Iranwire – A Belgian aid worker incarcerated in Iran and an Iranian diplomat jailed in Belgium in connection with a foiled bomb plot have been released in a swap deal mediated by Oman. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said in a statement on May 26 that Olivier Vandecasteele was transferred to Oman late on May 25, adding, “If all goes as …

Iranwire – The Isfahan Revolutionary Court has sentenced Heshmatullah Tabarzadi, a well-known opponent of the Islamic Republic, to 45 years and six months in prison, his lawyer says. “This unjust conviction is not final and can be challenged. However, my client refuses to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic’s courts and therefore does not protest,” the lawyer, Mohammad Moghimi, …

gatestoneinstitute.org – Since 2021, the Biden Administration has been cozying up to Iran in a way that has often seemed agonizingly embarrassing to entice it back to the disastrous 2015 “JCPOA” nuclear deal of the Obama Administration. Mercifully those efforts did not succeed: the new deal would still most likely have enabled Iran, after a few years, legitimately to have …

CNN — The waters of the Caspian Sea appear deceptively calm. But this sea route – which provides a direct path between Iran and Russia – is increasingly busy with cargo traffic, including suspected weapons transfers from Tehran to Moscow. As cooperation between the two countries deepens, the Caspian Sea route is being used to move drones, bullets, and mortar shells that the Russian …

iranintl – The British Foreign Office warned that British and Iranian-British citizens are significantly at risk of arbitrary detention if they travel to Iran. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in a notice on Thursday advised British nationals against all travel to Iran. It warned that the British passport can make Iranian authorities target travelers and they could spend months or …

Iranwire – A bill containing Iran’s Chastity and Hijab law has been presented to parliament, legislation that many see as a continuation of the government’s oppression of women and human rights. State media reported on May 24 that provisions of the bill refer to failure to comply by the compulsory head scarf as “nudity,” with progressively stiffer penalties that run up to …

Iranwire – The Yemeni Houthis, armed agents supported by the Islamic Republic, carried out an attack on a peaceful gathering of Baha’is in the city of Sana’a yesterday, detaining and disappearing 17 individuals including 5 women. The assault took place on June 4 and the detainees’ whereabouts and wellbeing remain unknown. The attack occurred as a group of Baha’is had gathered …

Iranwire – Belgium’s prime minister says Iranian authorities have released a Belgian humanitarian worker who had been jailed in Iran for more than a year. “Olivier Vandecasteele is on his way to Belgium,” Alexander De Croo said in a statement on May 26. “If all goes as planned, he will be with us tonight.” De Croo said Vandecasteele was transferred …

Iranwire – The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has joined its Iranian affiliate, the Tehran Province Journalists Association (TPJA), in demanding that the trial of women journalists Elahe Mohammadi and Niloofar Hamedi be held in open court. The TPJA also renewed its call on the Iranian authorities to release all journalists and media workers held behind bars. It said a …

Iranwire – The United States and France accused Iran of violating a UN Security Council resolution endorsing the 2015 nuclear deal after it carried out a long-range ballistic missile test. The Islamic Republic successfully test-launched a ballistic missile with a potential 2,000-kilometer range on May 25, state media reported, the latest in ballistic missile tests and satellite launches. French Foreign …